Foods Available Through Food Pantries and Short-Term Sample Clauses

Foods Available Through Food Pantries and Short-Term. Nutrition Initiatives Few food banks directly serve food insecure individuals; therefore, when trying to understand the food needs of the food insecure, it is imperative to learn about the agencies and pantries that work directly with individuals experiencing food insecurity.11 Moreover, published literature focused on nutrition initiatives at specific food pantries is also limited; despite short follow-up duration, the successes include greater fruit and vegetable selections and interest in preparing healthier food options.51,54 In one such study that focused on increasing food security and self- sufficiency among Hartford, Connecticut-based pantry clients, food insecure individuals were randomly invited to participate in the Freshplace client choice, fresh food-based pantry. These 2 See Appendix, Table 1 Freshplace clients were allowed to shop at Freshplace twice per month, centering their shopping experience on fresh, perishable foods, and were also offered a range of services provided onsite, such as motivational interviewing and a cooking class. Over the 1-year intervention, clients of Freshplace increased their self-sufficiency by 4.1 points and increased their fruits and vegetables by one serving per day compared to the individuals who were not selected to participate in the Freshplace intervention.54 Another nutrition initiative was offered through the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. In this study, individuals were recruited from low-income housing sites and emergency food pantries to participant in a six-week cooking program of plant-based recipes, xxxxx rice, and whole grains.47 Participants were then contacted for follow-up after six months; among study participants, total fruit and vegetable intake increased, grocery receipts showed a decrease in meat purchases, along with desserts and snacks. Additionally, participants’ food insecurity score decreased from baseline along with body mass index.51 Because the above nutrition initiatives are not the norm, it is important to understand the standard food pantry experience. Food pantries tend to stock shelf-stable, preserved foods, such as rice, pasta, dried or canned beans, canned fruits or vegetables, and infrequently refrigerated or dry milk.40,45-47,55 These individual items and bags on the whole tend to be low in calcium, fiber, whole grains, fruits, and dairy.40,41,45-47 Additionally, canned goods offered at food pantries tend to be low in vitamin C and potassium, and high in sodium.40,41 Man...